


Long Road Made Short Thanks To You

by Trams



Category: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Genre: Ficlet, Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 07:17:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14232111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trams/pseuds/Trams
Summary: Slice of life, plotless fluff





	Long Road Made Short Thanks To You

**Author's Note:**

> I have been dealing with some writers block. This was written to try and break it by showing myself I could write something from beginning to end. Originally just going to post it on Tumblr, but thought I might as well put it here as well

“I think when we get to the next town we should buy a couple of horseshoes, and some tools we can bring along,” Billy said. 

Kicking a rock on the ground, making it bounce along in front of them. He was holding the reins loosely in one hand, his horse walking behind him. One or two shoes and hammer and nails wouldn’t weigh that much, surely. 

“I mean, how hard can it be to shoe a horse?” He turned his head and looked at Goody walking next to him, his horse walking behind Goody, the sound of her hooves didn’t make the same sound as Billy’s with one shoe missing.

“You are not getting anywhere near my horse with a hammer and nails,” Goody protested. Billy looked forward again, tilting his head a little to the side, pressing his lips together for a moment.

“Yeah, she’ll probably try to hurt me,” Billy conceded. “You know, if she wasn’t such a monster the farriers wouldn’t be so terrified and would actually do a decent job you know.”

“They just have a healthy amount of respect for her,” Goody said. Billy turned to him again and raised an eyebrow. “And she has never hurt anyone seriously.”

“She sat on one,” Billy said. “I am sure they all send letters to each other, warning one another about your horse.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Goody said, though Billy noticed a thoughtful expression on the man’s face.

Billy stumbled a little but managed to stay mostly upright, looking away from Goody’s face.

“How far until the next town?” Billy asked. 

Trying to pretend that he hadn’t just stumbled on air. It was silly, still getting distracted by Goody’s face at the most random moments. It had been a long time since those first weeks of realizing his new feelings, and almost as long since they’d been acted upon for the first time. Yet every now and again, he still had those moments where he’d get so distracted by Goody’s face; or his eyes; or the way his hands moved; or the cadence of his voice; and Billy would find himself struggling not to be flustered.

Next to him Goody made a noise that Billy identified as a “I have no idea”-noise.

“We probably won’t get there before nightfall,” Goody said.

“Well, sleeping outside one more night isn’t a big deal,” Billy said. They still had some food left. They’d used their last can of beans the night before, but there was some cured ham left, which should still be fine.

“Going to rain though,” Goody said. Billy looked up at the clear blue sky, turning his head he couldn’t spot a single cloud, not even anything growing closer in the distance. He looked down again, staring at the sky in Texas always inevitably ended with him contemplating just how small he was in the world.

“How could you possibly tell,” Billy asked. Turning to Goody and giving him a sceptical look.

“My elbow is aching,” Goody said, nodding and looking serious.

“Your elbow?” Billy asked, dubious. Goody nodded again. Billy just shook his head and turned towards his horse and the saddle. Unhooking the canteen he took a long drink before he started walking again, catching up so that he was next to Goody again. He drank again, spilling some down his opened shirt collar, he had balled up his jacket and pushed it inside one of the saddlebags earlier when they had started walking.

He handed over the canteen to Goody, but just a second later it was thrust back at him, and Billy just shrugged and clipped the now very light container back on the saddle.

*

The thing was, Goody was good at predicting changes in weather, in a way Billy had never quite managed, unless there were rather large signs of the impending change, such as dark growing clouds – or raindrops. Goody on the other hand seemed to always know, and since that was the case once they stopped while they still had some afternoon light, Billy dutifully started putting up the tent – which otherwise they rarely used – while Goody brushed the horses and wrapped all the tack in the tarp that had been wrapped around the tent when it was tied to Goody’s saddle.

The tent was small, and as such he could put it up rather quick, at a reasonable distance from the stream nearby, a large boulder behind the tent, and a not particularly steep or long slope still giving them a decent sightline across the plain around them. Some trees near the stream would provide some shelter for the horses.

He rolled out the bed rolls in the cramped space inside the tent, and dumped their blankets in there. He crawled out from the tent again and looked over at Goody who was standing next to Billy’s horse holding up one of its legs, cleaning the hoof, and checking the shoe was still in place. Goody was good with the horses, Billy suspected it was because the man would sneak them apples and carrots, and – when he thought he could get away with it – lumps of sugar.

Billy looked up at the sky, and now he could see a growing cloud cover, and apparently Goody was going to be right again. He wondered if there would even be a point in gathering wood and making a fire before it started to rain.

Goody dropped down the leg he was holding, patted the horse and came over to Billy.

“Horses are ready,” Goody said. “There’s quite a lot of grass growing near the stream, so they should have enough to graze.”

“Good,” Billy said. “Should we get a fire started?” he asked, at the same time as he felt the first drop of rain hit the tip of his nose.

“Guess not,” Goody said and chuckled. Reaching out and stroking Billy’s cheek where another rain drop hit him. Billy leaned into the touch, giving Goody a small smile.

Dragging the bag with what food they had left with them they crawled inside of the tent.

*

Goody had lit their small lantern, and they had eaten a cold dinner before making themselves comfortable. Billy sitting up, leaning against the bag. He was relaxed, warm and happy, the rain smattering against the tent tarp, and Goody’s head resting in his lap. Goody had a book held in front of his face, reading out loud. Billy alternating between looking at Goody’s face, and the way his eyes glittered and he smiled when pausing to turn the page; and just closing his eyes and letting himself get lost in the cadence of Goody’s voice. He loved listening to Goody.

The light from the lantern was perhaps not the most conducive for reading, but it didn’t matter, it was the only book they had and they had had it for months. Goody could probably recite the short stories in it from memory, even Billy could probably do so and he hadn’t even read it, but he had heard it read by Goody so many times. Perhaps next time they made it past a larger town the could get another book; though Billy didn’t really care since all he really wanted was listening to Goody.

Billy had never wished for what he had found with Goody, because it hadn’t even been something he thought he could have. Loving someone and being loved in return; safety and relative comfort in a harsh world, no one who looked at Billy’s life before would have thought that it would turn around to him having any of this. It was a miracle to have found not just a partner but also a friend in Goody, and everything after that in their evolving relationship had felt like an impossible dream – an impossible dream made real.

*

When their eyes grew heavy with exhaustion Goody put aside the book and they crawled down underneath the blankets, wrapped around each other, they held onto the other one, as they shared kisses, long slow kisses filled with love and adoration, whispered words of affection and breath mingling between them, until sleep finally claimed them.

When Billy was woken in the middle of the night by the pained and frightened whimpers from Goody and his nightmares, he held him even tighter, rubbing his hand over Goody’s back making soothing noises hoping to sooth him back to sleep but instead Goody woke and mumbled, “I’m sorry.”

Before Billy could say anything Goody sat up and lit the lantern again. In the weak light Billy could see the haunted look on Goody’s face that made his heart twist and ache.

“I’m sorry,” Goody said again. “I didn’t mean to–”

Billy sat up as well and cupped Goody’s face in his hands. His cheeks damp against Billy’s palms, his blue eyes looking wet and so sad it made Billy’s chest hurt. He wished so deeply to take away Goody’s pain, the way Goody had taken away his own loneliness.

“No apologies needed,” Billy said. “I am here for you, always.”

Goody’s exhale was audibly shaky, and Billy leaned forward to rest his forehead against Goody’s.

They sat in silence until Goody had stopped trembling; until his breathing was calm once more; until they could lie down again, wrapped around one another in such a way that it would be hard to tell where one started and the other ended.

Billy wished he could say more, but he never seemed to find the words to express how he wished he could alleviate Goody’s pain. All he could do was hold the man tightly, and hope that at least something could get through – the fact that he would never let go of him.


End file.
